These are some of the plans Gunn High School seniors said they have for scholarship funds awarded this week.

In an outdoor lunch under campus oak trees Tuesday, the volunteer-led Gunn Foundation awarded need-based scholarships to 31 seniors at the school.

"This will give me the opportunity to get out of school with a smaller debt," said Avery Sredanovich, who will go to the University of California at Berkeley with a tentative plan to major in business.

Jonathan Alvarez plans to study information technology at Foothill College and transfer to a four-year institution.

Sally Yilma, heading for the University of California at Santa Cruz, said she plans to buy herself a laptop. Yilma now borrows them from the Gunn library.

Natalia Antonova plans to use her scholarship to study applied mathematics at the University of California at Irvine. Antonova's mother, Olga Krup, said the family moved to Palo Alto from Russia two years ago to find better opportunities for Natalia, who is hearing-impaired.

In Russia there was no extra support  or access to higher education  for deaf students, Krup said. At Gunn and at UC Irvine, Natalia qualifies for services such as note-taking help and test accommodations.

"The Gunn program for deaf and hard of hearing was a great support," Krup said. "Here we have the opportunity for the kids to study and work and be independent." Natalia, who uses hearing aids, is now considering cochlear implantation.

The Gunn Foundation has existed since 1968 to support the postsecondary plans  college or further training  of graduating seniors, said board co-president Kimberley Cowell, an assistant principal at Gunn.

This year's awards range from $500 to $3,500.

"We're supporting you, not in a major way in some respects, but at least in a small way to reach your dreams," Cowell told the recipients and their parents.

She asked each student to stand and declare study plans, which included biology, business, chemical engineering, computer science, early childhood education, economics, engineering, English literature, environmental science, farming, nursing, psychology and public health.

If you are a paid subscriber, check to make sure you have
logged in.
Otherwise our system cannot recognize you as having full free access to our site.

If you are a paid print subscriber and haven't yet set up an online account,
click here
to get your online account activated.

Comments

Like this comment

Posted by Ann Kelly
a resident of Ventura
on May 2, 2014 at 4:17 pm

Thanks go to all members of the Gunn community who, by their contributions to the Gunn Foundation, are investing in the future of our young people and of our community as a whole. Ann Kelly, co-president Gunn Foundation

Don't miss out on the discussion!Sign up to be notified of new comments on this topic.

Email:

Post a comment

Posting an item on Town Square is simple and requires no registration. Just complete this form and hit "submit" and your topic will appear online.
Please be respectful and truthful in your postings so Town Square will continue to be a thoughtful gathering place for sharing community information
and opinion. All postings are subject to our TERMS OF USE, and may be deleted if deemed inappropriate by our staff.

We prefer that you use your real name, but you may use any "member" name you wish.

Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund
For the last 23 years, the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund has given away more than $4 million to local nonprofits serving children and families. When you make a donation, every dollar is automatically doubled, and 100% of the funds go directly to local programs. Itâ€™s a great way to ensure your charitable donations are working at home.